The Murder Years: Ep. 3 - Daniel

This series is inspired by true events. The stories you're about to hear are fictional, and so are the characters who are played by actors.

Attention to the skier in the purple and white snowsuit, Yeah, you you can't ski in the downhill racing teams area. You're gonna get hurt. Please make your way safely to the green trail.

Thank you.

Back in February nineteen eighty five, I'm on the ski team at Mount Pine High School with my best friend Carla.

I mostly joined ski club in the hopes that I'd get a boyfriend and we'd ride the ski lift together, make out behind the grounds keeping shed, and drink hoot coco in the lage.

At that time, being on those slopes was a nice distraction from all the bad stuff. The bad stuff like Don Cartwright's murder that happened six months before. We were still thinking about it a lot.

But then there was this one Friday night. I remember it so well. We had just gotten to the top of the hill. We heard sirens, lots of sirens. I remember we looked at each other and said, oh no, not again.

I'm Nancy Clark. This is the Murder Years. Episode three, Daniel.

So it's February twenty second, nineteen eighty five, and we were scared seeing all those police cars going by. So we left snow Bear soon after. When I got home, I told my mom about it, wondering if she or my dad knew anything. See, my dad was a paramedic and he was on duty that night, so maybe he knew something.

Turns out he did.

My mom said my dad called home and told her some elementary school kids fell through the ice at Miller Lake.

Carla calls to let me know what she's learned about all those police cars. Later, I hear the kid who fell through the ice as eleven year old Mark Donahue, a rowdy kid from a big family. He's at the hospital with severe hypothermia, but will eventually be okay. I know the Donahue family. I used to babysit Mark. It's good news that he'll be okay. I actually dated his older brother, Teddy, too. He's agreed to talk.

To be honest, I think I liked you more back then than you like me.

That's fifty four year old Teddy Donahue today. Back in nineteen eighty five, Teddy is seventeen trying to rock the surfer look despite living in our frozen tundra.

So anyway, you gave me the let's just be friends speech, which is always fun. But actually it was a blessing because then I started dating Tina Matthews. She was a great girl, bright red hair, a little awkward in her own skin, but that's what made her fun. That Friday night when my brother fell through the ice, I was at the movies with Tina seeing the breakfast Club's in there.

Yes, where's your lunch?

You're wearing it.

Today Tina and Teddy are married and parents to twins who are now twenty eight years old. Here's Tina.

I'd known Teddy since kindergarten. Our parents were friends. They went to mounta Pine High School together. Man, this town is small anyway. The morning after we went to see the breakfast Club, I had a swim meet. That afternoon I had to work at the bowling Alley.

Pin Lanes has been opened since the nineteen forties and hasn't changed in Iota. Beautiful wooden lanes and seats. It's like walking into a time capsule. And because a lot of kids worked there over the years, it became a big hangout spot.

I liked working at Lucky Pins. I would hand out shoes and clean them. It was a dirty job, but somebody had to do it.

By midnight, the bowling Alley has cleared out and Tina finishes her shift and goes home. But the bar goes strong until two. It's one of the few places in town that stays open late. Things can get routy there. But what happens that night? No one sees coming.

Nine one one.

What's your emergency.

Yeah, I'm the manager of Lucky Pins and you need to send Hope here.

Now what's happening.

Well, I went to throw out the trash or dumpster off back and there's a body inside.

It's two thirty am when Mount Pine Police arrive on that frigid night. Detective Kurt Peters is working the case as the lead investigator. He's the same detective who sawved Don Cartwright's murder at the drive in.

So we.

Had a dead body and a dumpster didn't sound good at all.

I asked him to take me back to the scene, and he says he still remembers it so clearly because of its brutal details.

So I remember the first thing I saw as I walked over toward the dumpster. Was a wallet, brown wallet on the ground. I put on gloves and picked it up by the corner. Inside there was no money. There was only a driver's license and the name on it, said Daniel Walters. I wasn't sure yet if this was how Victim's wallet, but help so. It was always better to start with an ID than a Jane of John Doe. I then walked over to the dumpster and shined my

You know. There was all a victim face down.

In a pile of trash, his shirt slacked. I could see multiple stab wounds in his.

Back, Detective Peter says.

After officers photographed the victim in the dumpster, Peters allows the coroner's office to lay the body on the ground. Detective Peter says that's when he sees that the face of the victim matches the face on the driver's license found in the brown wallet.

How victim was twenty two year old Daniel Walters.

Since graduating from Mount Pine four years earlier, Daniel Walters has been working as a mechanic at Jerry's Gas Station, a lot of kids.

Around Mount Pine.

Knew Daniel because he would buy alcohol for those of us who didn't have fake IDs. Daniel was always really nice to us. He kind of looked a little like a little like Kevin Bacon and Footloose.

This one, it was like three am or so, and I turned my attention to the night manager, Robert Shield's nine one one caller.

Robert Shields actually moved to Alaska after this. He agreed to speak to me over the phone from his home and Anchorage.

Yeah, I told the detective what little I knew. I went outside and found him. I didn't recognize the guy. He wasn't in our bowling elle that night, and well, we've have some problems at the bar. It was a couple of months before I caught some kids getting high in the bathroom. We I SA had a domestic dispute and wife calling the cops on her husband. And then about a week before that happened, someone broke in and stole the cash register.

I needed to gather more evidence. I didn't know if any of those incidents related to the murder. At that point, I wanted to know if there were any security footage.

I told him no, no, the guy or guys that broke in a while back and stole a cash register, also smashed the two security cameras, and the owner never bothered to replace him.

While crime scene investigators work into the early morning hours, Detective Peters says he heads out to make the dreaded death notification.

So it was around five a m.

When I knocked on the door and was greeted by Daniel's dad, Donald Walters. I could tell he was confused, and I could tell he was bracing himself. Then I told him his son was found dead and it looked like he was stabbed multiple times. He just stared at me.

Back in nineteen eighty five, Donald Walters is forty five years old.

Today he's eighty two.

I actually couldn't believe he agreed to talk to me, but I was very thankful he did.

So.

I'll never forget it. The detective was sitting across from me at my kitchen table, telling me.

My son was dead. I was in shock.

I think I'm still in shock.

Honestly, even after all these years, it never really goes away. Daniel was He was such a sweet boy. I never heard anyone I was divorced. He helped take care of me. After I found twenty feet off the ladder at work, who broke both legs, cracked a few rints. I couldn't walk for almost a year. I still have trouble getting around without a walker. Daniel made all my meals, helped me Bathe helped me get better.

He was a sweet kid.

Listen, the last thing any twenty two year old wants to do is bathe his dad.

I asked him when he last saw his son. He said when he left for work that Saturday morning.

He said, nothing was odd about the last exchange.

I asked him delicately where he was that night, and he said he was home.

Alone.

I told him I did not kill my son. I did not kill Dan. I can barely stand up on my own. Look. I knew he was just doing his job, but still.

The father didn't have an alibi, but he just didn't look good for it.

So I asked him if.

He knew anyone who'd wanted to hurt his son, and he said no. I asked again, no one. Was he having troubles with anyone? Maybe someone from work? Without taking a breath, he said Victor.

I told the detective to talk to Victor.

It's a bit after six am and Jerry's gas station just opened. That's where Daniel worked with Victor Potts. Victor was short and stocky. Detective Peters talks to the manager, who says, yeah, Daniel and Victor did not like each other, not one bit. But Detective Peters can't talk to Victor because he's called in sick. He's been out for several days.

Well, I remember thinking that was an interesting day for him to call in sick. So I got his address and went to his house. I knocked and the guy.

Who answered the door identified himself as Victor Parts.

Yeah, this is Victor, and he actually looked sick. Victor told me it was true. It was no secret he hated Daniel.

I didn't care for Daniel, but he didn't care for me either.

But Daniel hated him right back.

I nearly lost my job because of him.

He ratted me out because I was taking some old car parts and reselling him.

He said Daniel ratted him out to the owner one time for taking and selling some discarded car parts, and he almost lost his job.

Then.

I remember this clearly because it rattled me a little.

No matter how much I hated that guy. I didn't kill him. I would have liked to.

But I did.

And then he said, just kidding, just kidding, it's kind of a half smile. It was strange.

Detective Peters confirms with Victor's roommate, he's been home sick for a few days. So for now, it seems like Victor Potts has an alibi. Not a strong one, but an alibi. Nonetheless. Back at the Mount Pine Police Station, Detective Peters says he and his colleagues pour out the contents of the dumpster on four long, plastic covered tables. They're hoping to find the murder weapon or any other clues that can help point them in the right direction.

So I remember we were going through all this trash with a fine tooth comb when I'm told the owner of Lucky Pens was at the station back.

In nineteen eighty five. Alan Rizzoli is in his mid sixties. The Bowling Alley has been in his family for years. Thankfully, Detective Peters taped his interview because mister Rizzoli has since passed away.

And I asked him about his business, and he mentions that they recently had a break in a robbery.

And they broke into the basement, smashed the two cameras, and took the cash register. Guys must have worn gloves because the police got no prints. I kind of suspected one of our former employees, and police talk to him, but they didn't have enough to rest him him.

Detective Peters asks for the names and numbers of his employees, former and current. It takes him another full day to interview the rest of the Bowling Alley and Bar employees, all of which turns up nothing. Detective Peters finds himself back at square one.

I knew I I needed to ask more questions about that his life, who he associated with, So I asked his dad, Donald, to come.

Down to station. I mean, did I have a girlfriend? Could have been a crime of passion?

Could there be some sort of love triangle stabbings are usually personal.

An hour later, Donald Walters arrives at the police station.

I hadn't slept in what felt like days, and I couldn't stop crying. I had to call Daniel's mother break the news to her, and she lived in another state. That was the hardest thing I ever had to do.

So I started by asking Walters about his son's personal life.

I told the detective that Daniel didn't have a girlfriend in a couple of years. I guess there was a chance he was dating someone I wasn't aware of, but if he was, couldn't have been too serious. I mean he'd go to work and he come home, helped me out, we watch sports, he'd go to bed.

Been like that for a while now.

But I told Detective Peters that Daniel was close to his cousin Simone, so maybe she knows something. I told him My brother, Eugene and Simone moved to Mount Pine after Simone's mom died of cancer. Besides losing his wife, Eugene had some issues, some struggles in life, so being close to me and Daniel was good.

Back in nineteen eighty five, Simone Walters is fourteen years old and a year behind us in school. She was a jock back then. She played both volleyball and basketball.

I asked Simone Eugene to come down to the station, and they arrived at the station.

Simone was very upset.

Today, Simone lives in Ohio. She was kind enough to speak with me by phone, even though she says it's all still hard to talk about.

I remember how sad.

I was.

I couldn't believe it. I had lost my mother and then Daniel. I was broken. I told Detective Peters that Daniel and I had just hung out that Friday night at my house. He bought me Chicago's new album. I was obsessed with that song, you Know You're the Inspurra. We put it on the record player and laying on the living room floor playing it over and over. Then we had pizza and I made him watch The Love Boat with me. You know, he was my cousin, but he was my friend.

When I questioned her, so, Mom said she couldn't think of anyone who'd want to hurt Daniel. Then I asked her dad, Eujeene, a few questions. Eujane was a lanky, fragile looking man. Maybe all of his loss had taken a toll on him. He was about six inches taller than his brother, but even giving Donald's disabilities, Eugene seemed much much weaker. Eugene agreed with Simon, he didn't know anyone who'd wanted hurt Daniel. He said he was a good kid. Eugene was a man of few words.

Two days later, the coroner comes out with her report, which Detective Peters shares with me. Daniel Walters had been stabbed thirteen times with a serrated knife, twice in the back, ten times in his hands and arms, which were defensive wounds, and the official cause of death was the thirteenth and final piercing stab wound to his heart. And the stab wounds show that the knife went in on a downward angle, which means the killer was probably significantly taller than Daniel.

Look it had no leads, I was I was beyond frustrate it so returned to the media.

Police are asking for the public's help to catch Daniel Walter's killer, offerating a five thousand dollars reward for any information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator of this heinous crime.

Walter's body was found in.

A dumpster outside a Lucky Pin's bowling alley last Sunday. He had been stabbed multiple times.

So the good news was the press conference work. Our department received a lot of tips, and the most promising tip came from a man who id'd the killer.

I wasn't coming forward just because of the reward.

I swear Carl Pfizer is no stranger around town then or now. Then he was in his early twenties. He had already had a few run ins with the law, mostly DUI's and public intoxication. There was also a domestic violence charge he brought against his ex girlfriend, but that eventually was dropped.

Yeah, we knew Carl at the station. We knew him all too well. He could be a nice guy, but he had his demons.

You know.

I didn't know what he could tell me about this case, but I was open to hearing what he had to say.

I was skeptical.

Now today, Carl's totally cleaned up his act. He's married with children and works at the local hardware store.

Okay, I remember when I saw it was Detective Peters who would be interviewing me.

I was pissed.

I should put it in nicer terms today, but back then I thought the guy was a total dick. Anyway, I told the detective I heard something about the robbery that happened at Lucky Pins, and that there was maybe a connection to that kid's murder. The robbery was inside job that was done by Dale Tompkins, a former employee, and his brother Stewie, and they really messed up that kid who caught them in the act. I mean Jesus, they beat him and stabbed him and the kids survived,

I asked all several questions, and yeah, I was going to have the Robbery Division interview Dale and Stewie Tompkins recall didn't seem to have any real inful about Daniel's murder.

An entire month goes by with no new leads. My friends and I are scared. No one has been caught, and there's a literal killer on the loose, maybe walking amongst us, and we have no idea who it is. Then a late night visit changes everything.

We had to talk to Detective Peters right away.

Daniel's cousin Simone and Daniel's father Donald are at the police station.

I saw a Detective Peters and I was about to lose my mind. I didn't even wait for us to get into the interview room. I just blurted it out.

My brother Eugene killed my son, and you need to do something so I don't kill him.

There were no words to describe the devastation. I was feeling. My uncle was accusing my father of murder, and I was smack in the middle of it. My dad and I were fighting. He said I didn't appreciate everything he's done for me, and I told him, well, of course I did, but he kept saying I didn't, and he was acting so crazy. He was scaring me, and he said he did what he had to do to keep me safe.

And then.

He said he killed Daniel because he thought he was molesting me.

Was he No, of course not.

I told my father he was wrong. Daniel wasn't doing anything to me.

My brother had been institutionalized for mental issues in the past. He was diagnosed with delusional disorder years ago, but he'd been fine for a long time. Look, I didn't know if he'd had a psychotic break or what, and I didn't care.

I wanted to kill him.

I asked where he was, and Simone said the last she saw him was at home. Me and six other officers high teled it to Eugene's house.

When we got there, he surrounded it and told him to come out with his hands up. Moments later, he opened the door, then actually walked back inside.

Officers stormed the house, toppled him from behind, got him to the ground and cuffed them. Then they put him in a chair at his kitchen table. Everyone's a drilling was through the roof. I asked him by then and there if he killed Daniel, and he said yes. I was stunned. He said Daniel was molesting Simon.

That Saturday, Simone was at volleyball practice.

He kept talking.

Daniel came over to help him fix his car.

When Daniel finished, they went inside and Daniel washed his hands.

Then he asked to use the phone in the kitchen.

I overheard Daniel on the phone talking about this girl he liked, and I thought he was talking about Simone.

He became enraged.

He grabbed a knife on the drawer, and when Daniel hung up the phone, he stabbed him in the back.

Multiple times.

Daniel turned around, they fought, and Eugene stabbed him until he was dead. Listening to Eugene described this was chilly. He had a flat effect, no emotion at all. I asked him what happened next.

I put his body in a large stuffel bag, cleaned the kitchen while I waited for it to get dark, and then I put him in my trunk and drove around for hours looking for somewhere to dump the body. I got tired and gave up looking for the perfect place, so I pulled into the Bowling Alley parking lot.

He got tired and gave him looking for the perfect place, so he pulled into the Bowlden Alley parking lot.

And didn't see anyone around him. Put him in the dumpster.

I asked him what he did with the knife.

The knife is under my mattress.

Officers into his bedroom and came out holding a five inch serrated knife. Blade had been wiped clean mostly, but there were small traces of blood still on it.

We had, Oh God.

Eugene Walters's charged with first degree murder seems like an open and shut case, right. Nope, because Eugene cleads not guilty by reason of insanity. Prosecutor Laura Wells is trying the case for the state.

Eugene Walters claimed he had a mental break the moment he killed his nephew Daniel, So yes, he did it, but he shouldn't be held responsible.

Remember, Eugene Walters has a history of mental breakdowns and hospitalizations. The judge orders the psychological examination to find out if he's competent to stand trial and if he'd be able to help his attorney in his own defense. Ultimately, the judge rules Eugene is competent to stand trial, but it takes another six months for the trial to start, and when it does, Daniel's father, Donald and Simone are there every day.

My dad was sick. What he did was crazy. I didn't think he knew anything about what he did at the time that he killed Daniel. And of course, I still love my dad so much. I mean, he was the only parent I had and I still needed him. Uncle Donald didn't feel the same, of course, and my sticking up for Dad definitely drove a wedge between me and my uncle. I mean at the trial, we didn't even we didn't sit together. We sat on opposite sides.

Of the courtroom.

I couldn't even look at him, he couldn't look at me.

It was just so sad.

Several witnesses are called for the prosecution, including doctor Sally Pope, a psychologist and expert in the insanity defense.

The trial was audio taped.

Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, So help you.

God, I do you may be seated.

Doctor Pope testifies that, yes, it is possible to have a psychotic break.

Considering Eugene Walters has some history of mental illness, it could be more likely to occur in him than someone else. But what doesn't add up is he took the knife out of the drawer and waited for Daniel to get off the phone before stabbing him. That shows an acknowledgment of potential consequences. He didn't want the person Daniel was talking to to hear what he was about to do. And then there's what mister Walters did after he killed

I mean, the list goes.

On and on.

The trial lasts for five days, then the jury goes into deliberation. On day three, the jury four person sends out a note saying they are deadlocked. The judge urges them to try again. Two days later, the jury comes back with a verdict guilty. Eugene Walters is sentenced twenty.

Five to life.

His brother is still torn apart.

It said to.

Say this then and now, because what we were all losers in this.

I mean, nobody won.

I lost my son for God's sake, but in the end, my brother got.

What he deserved.

My dad was going to prison for a very long time, and I had nowhere to live. I didn't want to live with my uncle Donald, so I went to live with a friend in her parents and I went to see my dad when I could, but it was so hard. I really missed him, and God, I missed Daniel so much it hurts.

So another one of us is dead and buried. Another trial, another devastated family. It's all becoming too much. My friends were as freaked out as I was.

I was scared. I mean I just kept feeling it and saying it.

I don't know, I'm sure I was a broken record, but I was really scared.

I mean, it was like, how many more of us were going to die?

And who would be.

Next next time?

On the murder years, as a guy came in, he pulled out a gun out of his coat, and he said, to me, give me all the money.

Tragedy After the homecoming game.

She said I got freaked out and just shot it was an accident?

Was it an accident? Or something more sinister? The Murder Years is a production of AYR Media and iHeartMedia. Executive producer Elisa Rosen for AYR Media, co executive producer Paulina Williams. Written by Leah Rothman, directed by Michael Selditch. Original concept developed in partnership with Anne, Margaret Johns and Greg Spring. Casting by Eisenberg Beans Casting, Senior Associate producer Eric Newman,